Existing comment:
African American Heritage Trail, Washington, DC
Elks Columbia Lodge No. 85
1844 Third Street, NW
Columbia Lodge No. 85 of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World was incorporated in 1906, eight years after the parent organization was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lodge No. 85's first meeting took place at the True Reformer Hall on U Street, NW. By the 1940s, the organization counted 3,000 members and was well known for its community service and grand parades. In 1925 the Elks purchased a large house at 301 Rhode Island Avenue. Forty years later they sold that headquarters and most of the land, retaining only the portion where they built this new lodge in 1968. |